The end of the year means Kelley Blue Book is sharing its annual Best Buy Award winners. The 10th annual awards, which recognize stand-out 2024 models, follow a year of testing nearly every new and redesigned vehicle available in the U.S. This year awards were handed down in 14 categories. The 2024 Toyota Prius won the top accolade as Best New Model.
"It's a new era for car shoppers with remarkable strides being made in automotive technology, efficiency, safety, and design year after year," said Jason Allan, principal editor of vehicle reviews for Kelley Blue Book. "Since the inception of the Best Buy Awards a decade ago, the industry's progress is nothing short of astounding. Fast forward to 2024, and the Best New Model, the 2024 Toyota Prius, encapsulates the very essence of automotive innovation, with its focus on efficiency, safety, cutting-edge technology, all in a sophisticated package - setting the benchmark for what defines a Best New Model."
KBB says its Best Buy Award-winning vehicles are not just about exceptional performance and value. They are also equipped with features designed to make your holidays smoother and cater to the demands of your everyday life. Winners also include the 2024 Honda Accord, with KBB noting features like Traffic Jam Assist. The 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning took home the award for Best Electric truck, with KBB noting its convenient in-bed power that allows you to "cook on the go with a powered-up crockpot en route to your in-laws."
KBB's annual Best Buy Awards are based on the analysis of vehicle-related data like vehicle pricing, consumer reviews and ratings, 5-Year Cost to Own information – which includes depreciation, insurance, maintenance, financing, fuel, fees and taxes for new cars – along with consumer reviews and ratings and vehicle sales information. To be considered for Best New Model, the vehicle must be an all-new or redesigned vehicle – unavailable before the prior year's final Best Buy Awards testing – and offer a strong value proposition to consumers based on pricing, innovation, and available standard technology and safety features.
Here's a list of this year's winners along with comments from Kelley Blue Book.
Best New Model: 2024 Toyota Prius
KBB: The Toyota Prius is an automotive Cinderella. With this all-new generation, it has evolved from smart, practical transportation to become one of the sleekest cars on the road, all while increasing its power and efficiency.
Best Compact Car: 2024 Honda Civic
KBB: Honda has perfected the compact car formula, which explains how the Civic has made our Compact Car Best Buy list nine out of 10 times. Regarding the features, pricing, and dependability small car buyers demand, the Civic dutifully checks all the right boxes. And as small cars go, the Civic is a delight.
Best Midsize Car: 2024 Honda Accord
KBB: The Honda Accord is a comfortable and refined 5-seater that backs up its fun driving manners with excellent practicality, a roomy interior, a huge trunk, outstanding resale values, and a broad variety of trim levels, four of which are super fuel-efficient hybrids.
Best Subcompact SUV: 2024 Hyundai Kona
KBB: Bigger, more refined, and a better value than ever before, the Hyundai Kona offers a stunning amount of tech, safety, and convenience features for its ultra-low starting price.
Best Compact SUV: 2024 Honda CR-V
KBB: The Honda CR-V isn't just the cream of the crop in compact SUVs, it's among the most recommendable vehicles bar none. Fresh off a complete redesign last year, the CR-V combines exceptional practicality, satisfying driving dynamics, and a proven reputation for reliability and resale value.
Best Midsize SUV: 2024 Kia Telluride
KBB: There are several great contenders in the Midsize SUV class and we had long conversations exploring all their various virtues. But we couldn't get away from the obvious and logical conclusion -- the Telluride is too good to be toppled. The Kia Telluride does everything a midsize SUV has to do, and does it well. Factor in all the features for the price and the Telluride looks even more attractive.
Best Full-Size SUV: 2024 Ford Expedition
KBB: The 2024 Ford Expedition boasts refined driving manners, a comfortable ride, and impressive fuel economy (for its size) –things you would not expect from a full-size SUV. The Expedition can also tow up to 9,300 pounds, and seat up to eight people in its modern, cavernous interior.
Best Compact Truck: 2024 Ford Maverick
KBB: Ford didn't invent the compact pickup; they just reminded everyone how much Americans missed having the option. The 2024 Ford Maverick provides light-duty pickup goodness in an attractive package with multiple personalities. Its compact size easily slips into parking spaces often too small for a full-size truck, and its lower ride height means loading the bed doesn't require body-builder-size arms.
Best Midsize Truck: 2024 Toyota Tacoma
KBB: With this all-new generation of the Tacoma, Toyota has seamlessly blended refinement, comfort, and excellent road manners with tough-truck capability and incredible power. And even though the truck is completely new for 2024, it still has that familiar Toyota feel.
Best Full-Size Truck: 2024 Ford F-150
KBB: Ford loads up the 2024 Ford F-150 with technology while electrifying the lineup with a hybrid and fully electric model. Amid this transformation, Ford continues to exceed buyers' expectations. Whether it's a basic work truck, an opulent people mover, a capable off-roader, or something in between, Ford offers an F-150 to do the job. There is good reason Kelley Blue Book is naming the 2024 F-150 a Best Buy Award winner among full-size trucks for the 10th consecutive year: Year after year, it sets the bar for capability, fuel economy, and technology.
Best Minivan: 2024 Toyota Sienna
KBB: We like the swoopy, stylish exterior of the Sienna, but when it comes to minivans, it's what's on the inside that counts. The Toyota Sienna's interior is an excellent execution of the "living room on wheels" characteristic that families love. The Sienna has three spacious rows of seats, plenty of cargo space, and options like second-row captain's chairs with built-in ottomans, hands-free power sliding doors, and the Driver Easy Speak intercom system.
Best Electric Vehicle: 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5
KBB: The 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 blends technology, practicality, and value in an electric vehicle that feels at once futuristic yet approachable.
Best 3-Row Electric Vehicle: 2024 Kia EV9
KBB: The Kia EV9 is a roomy and practical 3-row midsize SUV that's also boldly styled, enjoyable to drive and 100% electric. The first 7-passenger electric vehicle from a mainstream automaker, the thoroughly impressive EV9 is rated for up to 304 miles of range and can absorb almost 150 miles worth of electricity in just 15 minutes. Kia's latest winner promises to enjoy a good run as the coolest car at the soccer fields.
Best Electric Truck: 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning
KBB: The electric pickup truck segment is still relatively new but growing yearly. The all-electric version of the perennially best-selling Ford F-Series is a great buy for its reasonable pricing, impressive range, and advanced tech features.
Kelley Blue Book also says to celebrate this year's winners, it teamed with professional organizer and author of "The Folding Book," Janelle Cohen, to offer her expert advice on maintaining an organized vehicle throughout the holiday season and into the new year.
"Since I can remember, I have loved being able to tackle cluttered areas and create neat, organized and optimized spaces that are both practical and efficient," said Janelle Cohen. "The same goes for finding the right car – practical and efficient – that meets your unique needs of everyday life, which is why I'm so excited to team with Kelley Blue Book and share my advice for optimizing your space whether that is in your home or in the car. With the Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards, it makes it easy to find a car I know I can count on and has the features I am looking for, like a hands-free liftgate – making holiday and grocery shopping a breeze!"
To read more visit KBB here.
Photo Credit: Toyota.